Job 9
1 Et respondens Iob, ait:
Then Job answered:
2 Vere scio quod ita sit, et quod non iustificetur homo compositus Deo.
“Yes, I know that it is so, but how can a mortal be righteous before God?
3 Si voluerit contendere cum eo, non poterit ei respondere unum pro mille.
If one wished to contend with God, he could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.
4 Sapiens corde est, et fortis robore: quis restitit ei, et pacem habuit?
God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has resisted Him and prospered?
5 Qui transtulit montes, et nescierunt hi quos subvertit in furore suo.
He moves mountains without their knowledge and overturns them in His anger.
6 Qui commovet terram de loco suo, et columnæ eius concutiuntur.
He shakes the earth from its place, so that its foundations tremble.
7 Qui præcipit Soli, et non oritur: et stellas claudit quasi sub signaculo:
He commands the sun not to shine; He seals off the stars.
8 Qui extendit cælos solus, et graditur super fluctus maris.
He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.
9 Qui facit Arcturum, et Oriona, et Hyadas, et interiora austri.
He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, of the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.
10 Qui facit magna, et incomprehensibilia, et mirabilia, quorum non est numerus.
He does great things beyond searching out, and wonders without number.
11 Si venerit ad me, non videbo eum: si abierit, non intelligam.
Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him; were He to move, I would not recognize Him.
12 Si repente interroget, quis respondebit ei? vel quis dicere potest: Cur ita facis?
If He takes away, who can stop Him? Who dares to ask Him, ‘What are You doing?’
13 Deus, cuius iræ nemo resistere potest, et sub quo curvantur qui portant orbem.
God does not restrain His anger; the helpers of Rahab cower beneath Him.
14 Quantus ergo sum ego, ut respondeam ei, et loquar verbis meis cum eo?
How then can I answer Him or choose my arguments against Him?
15 Qui etiam si habuero quippiam iustum, non respondebo, sed meum iudicem deprecabor.
For even if I were right, I could not answer. I could only beg my Judge for mercy.
16 Et cum invocantem exaudierit me, non credo quod audierit vocem meam.
If I summoned Him and He answered me, I do not believe He would listen to my voice.
17 In turbine enim conteret me, et multiplicabit vulnera mea etiam sine causa.
For He would crush me with a tempest and multiply my wounds without cause.
18 Non concedit requiescere spiritum meum, et implet me amaritudinibus.
He does not let me catch my breath, but overwhelms me with bitterness.
19 Si fortitudo quæritur, robustissimus est: si æquitas iudicii, nemo audet pro me testimonium dicere.
If it is a matter of strength, He is indeed mighty! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?
20 Si iustificare me voluero, os meum condemnabit me: si innocentem ostendero, pravum me comprobabit.
Even if I were righteous, my mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, it would declare me guilty.
21 Etiam si simplex fuero, hoc ipsum ignorabit anima mea, et tædebit me vitæ meæ.
Though I am blameless, I have no concern for myself; I despise my own life.
22 Unum est quod locutus sum, et innocentem et impium ipse consumit.
It is all the same, and so I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
23 Si flagellat, occidat semel, et non de pœnis innocentum rideat.
When the scourge brings sudden death, He mocks the despair of the innocent.
24 Terra data est in manus impii, vultum iudicum eius operit: quod si non ille est, quis ergo est?
The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He blindfolds its judges. If it is not He, then who is it?
25 Dies mei velociores fuerunt cursore: fugerunt, et non viderunt bonum.
My days are swifter than a runner; they flee without seeing good.
26 Pertransierunt quasi naves poma portantes, sicut aquila volans ad escam.
They sweep by like boats of papyrus, like an eagle swooping down on its prey.
27 Cum dixero: Nequaquam ita loquar: commuto faciem meam, et dolore torqueor.
If I were to say, ‘I will forget my complaint and change my expression and smile,’
28 Verebar omnia opera mea, sciens quod non parceres delinquenti.
I would still dread all my sufferings; I know that You will not acquit me.
29 Si autem et sic impius sum, quare frustra laboravi?
Since I am already found guilty, why should I labor in vain?
30 Si lotus fuero quasi aquis nivis, et fulserit velut mundissimæ manus meæ:
If I should wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lye,
31 Tamen sordibus intinges me, et abominabuntur me vestimenta mea.
then You would plunge me into the pit, and even my own clothes would despise me.
32 Neque enim viro qui similis mei est, respondebo: nec qui mecum in iudicio ex æquo possit audiri.
For He is not a man like me, that I can answer Him, that we can take each other to court.
33 Non est qui utrumque valeat arguere, et ponere manum suam in ambobus.
Nor is there a mediator between us, to lay his hand upon us both.
34 Auferat a me virgam suam, et pavor eius non me terreat.
Let Him remove His rod from me, so that His terror will no longer frighten me.
35 Loquar, et non timebo eum: neque enim possum metuens respondere.
Then I would speak without fear of Him. But as it is, I am on my own.
